The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for delivering data to a user and, in particular, to systems where such data is selected from a larger store automatically and on the basis of a compiled profile of the user.
An example of such a system is described in European patent application EP-A-0 944 002 which provides a communications method and a communications network comprising a server and a plurality of user terminals. The user terminals can share information with each other and with the server by means of an interconnecting network, especially the Internet. On the server, a profile database is provided containing data representing a characteristic behaviour of associated user addresses. The server automatically acquires this representative data in response to activities performed by the associated users of the network, which data is stored with the associated user addresses in the profile database on the server.
The particular concern with the system of EP-A-0 944 002 is to avoid an incorrect or inappropriate profile specification being built up for a user and, to this end, the described profile database can be accessed by the user at any time such that the user can modify the content of the database in relation to the contents associated with one of the addresses associated with that user. The user can modify the contents by, for example, adding, deleting, or amending subject matter in the profile database.
Whilst user profiling can increase the user-friendliness of the system as perceived by the user, the accommodations required in terms of additional data channels to storage and data collation utilities within the server may make the provision of user-profiling or user tailoring of services an unjustified excess.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide some means whereby the user-perceived enhanced system functionality arising from user profiling does not require excessive system communications resources.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a networked communications apparatus comprising at least one server and a plurality of user stations, wherein the user stations comprise terminals arranged to receive information from the at least one server by means of a connection via a first network, the apparatus further comprising:
storage means holding a profile database, which profile database contains data representing a characteristic behaviour of an associated user terminal network address or addresses, the apparatus including means for automatically acquiring such data in response to an activity of the associated user and storing the same together with the associated user terminal network address or addresses in the profile database;
wherein the user station further comprises a portable communications device coupled with said terminal and connectable to said at least one server via a second network, and in that the means for automatically acquiring user data stores access data for establishing a connection via said second network with the associated user terminal network address or addresses. By use of the portable communications device link for the transfer of user profiling data, traffic on the first network (which may be the Internet or some more localised Intranet) is kept to within manageable levels such that the user does not associate advanced profiling functionality with system delays.
The portable communications device may suitably comprise a mobile telephone (the second network being a telecommunications network), and the said access data for establishing a connection may therefore comprise a telephone number. The above-referenced first network may be the Internet and the user terminals may accordingly comprise at least a display device coupled with processing means hosting an Internet browser and user-operable means for control of the same. With such an arrangement, one or more of the said terminals may comprise a television receiver further configured to access and display data from the World Wide Web.
In one embodiment, the coupling between the portable communications device and the respective user terminal may comprise a wireless link. Additionally, the aforementioned data transfer via said wireless link preferably follows a predetermined set of message transfer protocols, such as those known generically as xe2x80x9cBluetoothxe2x80x9d.
The portable communications device may further comprise a buffer arranged to store data received from said server and addressed to the respective user terminal and, in such circumstances, may further comprise means for reading stored data from said buffer and sending said data on to the user terminal. In such an arrangement, the portable communications device may further comprise means configured to determine whether a respective user terminal is available to receive data from the said server and, if so, to forward such data and, if not, to buffer such data until such time as either the respective user terminal becomes available or the buffer becomes full.
In an arrangement as aforesaid, said portable communications device may further comprise means configured to determine whether said server is available to receive data from a respective user terminal and, if so, to forward such data and, if not, to buffer such data until such time as either the server becomes available or the buffer becomes full.
The user terminal may be configured for the automatic acquisition of data for the profile database, with said data being transferred to said server via said mobile communications device following establishment of a connection via said second network. Additionally, the coupling with said user terminal may be by wireless transmission therefrom, and the portable communications device means for receiving wireless transmissions from the terminal may be further configured to receive additional data transmitted wirelessly from other sources.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a portable communications apparatus for use in a system as described hereinabove, a data processing apparatus having the technical features of a user terminal as recited above and including means for coupling, for transfer of data, with a communications apparatus described above.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of data communication for use in a networked communications system comprising at least one server and a plurality of user stations, wherein the user stations comprise terminals which can receive information from the at least one server by means of a connection via a first network, the method comprising:
providing a profile database, which profile database contains data representing a characteristic behaviour of an associated user terminal network address or addresses, the data being acquired automatically in response to an activity of the associated user and being stored together with the associated user terminal network address or addresses in the profile database;
with the user station further comprising a portable communications device coupled with said terminal and connectable to said at least one server via a second network, the profile database may further be configured to access data for establishing connection via said second network with the associated user terminal network address or addresses.
The said communications device may comprise a mobile telephone and the above-mentioned stored access data for establishing connection may correspondingly comprise a telephone number for said mobile telephone. Under such circumstances, the portable communications device may be configured to store data received from said server and addressed to the respective user terminal, and the buffer may hold or buffer such data until such time as either the respective user terminal becomes available or the buffer becomes full.